


Heal, Sustain, Strengthen, Hope

by ImaginationReaper98



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Post TLJ
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 23:24:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13110705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImaginationReaper98/pseuds/ImaginationReaper98
Summary: "When your heart is so full, you can't help but share a piece of it to others."





	Heal, Sustain, Strengthen, Hope

_"When your heart is so full, you can't help but share a piece of it to others." his mother murmured against his hair. He was nestled beneath her arms, his head right above the place where her heart was. "And if someone gives back remember to hold it close and never let it go."_

_"Mmhmm," he hummed sleepily. His mother chuckled softly as she ruffled his dark unruly hair._

_"Goodnight, sleepyhead."_

 

....

 

Poe woke up with a smile. 

He had a nice dream, a scene from a cherished old memory. It was so calm, so starkly different from the chaotic swirl of the past few days.

After the rush of relief he felt when he climb aboard the _Millennium Falcon_ , his muscles began to complain and exhaustion finally crept its way into his eyes. He had been sitting next to Leia when he dozed off and the blanket that was wrapped around him didn't escape his notice. 

Leia was still at the exact same spot not far from him, graceful even in her sleep. Poe rose to his feet and draped the blanket around her, placing a kiss on the top of her head. She looked tired and weary, but not hopeless. She was never without hope, even after everything.

"She refused to take the bunker, said she's used to sleeping there."

Startled, Poe turned around and saw Rey crouched down on the floor on the other side of the Falcon's lounge.

Poe smiled down at Leia, both concerned and endeared, then walked over to Rey.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

She took a moment to stare up at him before patting the space on the floor by her side.

He kept his eyes on her as he sat himself down, but despite having only just met him earlier, something told Rey that she could trust him. Instinct, perhaps? Or maybe it was just that there was something in his smile, his face, that was safe and warm. Rey felt the same about Leia the first time she met her.

"BB-8 wouldn't stop talking about you." he said. _Oh, so you're using your droid to strike up a conversation?_ he thought, _Sure, Poe. Sure._

"Is that so?"

"He really likes you." His face crinkled and it made Rey's stomach flip. It was an odd sensation, but weirdly comforting. "Thank you, by the way, for helping my droid. For saving all of us."

"I just did what any person inside this ship would've done."

Poe nodded. "The right thing."

"Yeah," Rey smiled, the same one she gave him when they shook hands. 

Poe's eyes flit to a gaping wound on her arm. "You should get that patched up."

"It's nothing."

Poe rose to his feet like he didn't hear her at all and went to scour the ship for some medical supplies. He found a medkit by the padded alcove where Rose was, sleeping peacefully. Finn was asleep on the floor with his arms crossed and his head rested on the edge of the makeshift bed, not leaving her side. _We really have to find a place to lay low soon, and a doctor._

Poe arrived with a medkit in hand. "May I?"

"Go ahead." There was no point in stopping him, really.

He went down on one knee and with deft fingers he examined her wound with surprising gentleness, a crease forming between his brows. His face was so close to hers that Rey could make out its minute details, like the small scar on his cheek or the warm color of his eyes. Those same eyes flickered to hers for a moment then it went back to focus on the task at hand. Rey turned to face the other way as a rush of warmth crept up to her face.

"There," he said as he finished, "that'll do for now. But I'll have a doctor take a look at it once we..."

"Once we find one." she finished for him.

Poe chuckled softly, hopeful rather than worried.

"Thank you." Rey said. There was that smile again, Poe wished she would just smile all the time.

He shrugged. "It's the least I could do."

 

....

 

Poe climbed up the Falcon's boarding ramp and the moment he got inside the ship, his droid's cheerful beeps reached his ears.

This has become a routine ever since they set up base in this obscure green planet in the Outer Rim with a name he couldn't even pronounce. BB-8 disappears for a long period of time, Poe looks for him, checks the Millennium Falcon and finds him inside helping Rey while she does some repairs on the mighty old ship, handing her tools and acting like a darn cute droid all the time. He's a loyal and caring companion but he was never like that with Poe, trying too hard to be charming and all that. Perhaps it was a side of him that he reserved only for Rey.

BB-8 was looking down the deck where Rey was, he could hear her swearing in between frustrated exclamations.

"Hey, buddy." said Poe. BB-8 looked up at him, his domed head tilted to one side. He beeped with a warning tone.

"I did not come to bother her, I'm just here to give her this." Poe raised the plastic bag filled with vibrant-colored fruits that he and Finn picked in the depths of the planet's forests after scouting it the entire day. "Don't worry, we got them checked. Not poisonous."

"Is someone there, BB-8?" Rey called out.

"It's just me." he said..

Rey's head popped up and a smile spread across her face when she saw him. She was probably used to Poe showing up inside the ship at this point.

"I got you something." 

Rey scrambled out of the deck with effortless ease. Poe sat cross-legged on the floor, setting the assortment of fruits in front of him.

"What are these?" she asked as she sat down across him. 

"Fruits. We don't know what they're called, but they are edible."

Tentatively, she reached for a round purple fruit about the size of a fist and took one generous bite. Her eyes widened as she chewed which prompted a series of concerned and angry beeps from BB-8.

"I told you, they're not poisonous."

Rey swallowed and grinned so widely, Poe's heart skipped a beat. 

"This tastes so kriffing good." 

They gobbled down the rest like they haven't eaten anything for days and it turned out that the purple one was her favorite. _And it had to be the one that's hardest to get, huh?_

Poe would just have to put all the years he spent back in Yavin climbing up trees to good use. 

 

...

 

Rey developed a new habit of training in the middle of the night, when the planet was quiet but for the delicate sounds of nocturnal creatures shuffling around and the rustling of trees against the gentle night winds. It was comforting, soothing. Nights in Jakku were just _silent,_ lifeless and cold. This, this was different. A silence so full of life.

Usually, she would just sit and meditate, feeling the buzz of the force all around her and within her. But this time she decided to stretch out her limbs. Her staff hissed against the air with every swing, each bead of sweat on her flesh cooled off by the wind. She kept at it for minutes, hours, until exhaustion finally caught up with her and she collapsed on a bed of soft grass. 

She took a deep breath and savored the sweetness of the air. When they first arrived on this planet, it felt like Takodana all over again. She'd never get sick of inhaling all of this natural air so unlike the recycled atmosphere that had numbed her lungs for so long.

Suddenly, she heard the thump of boots against the ground and felt a presence that has already grown so comfortably familiar to her.

She sat up, looked behind her and surely enough, Poe was there carrying a steaming mug and wearing a slightly embarassed smile on his face. It was a new look on him.

"I brought you some caf." 

Rey stood and walked over to him. He handed her the mug and she took it with both hands. "Thank you."

"No problem."

She took a sip of the bitter liquid, a direct contrast to the gesture and the person in front of her.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" she asked.

"I could say the same thing to you." he replied with a shrug.

Laughter escaped her lips as easily as the way she drew strength from the force, natural and almost involuntary.

 

...

 

"We'll be back before you know it." said Finn as he patted him on the back. "And since Rey is coming, I bet it would only take us a couple of days to finish the mission."

"Just stay safe, both of you." Poe told him.

Finn nodded solemnly. "Of course."

Another clap on the back and his friend was off again, running straight to Rose and pulling her in a tight embrace. 

"Hey,"

Poe's eyes whipped away from the couple and found Rey standing in front of him. "Hey."

Truth be told, Poe was worried. It was irrational, especially after Rey had proven herself powerful time and time again. He knew that, he truly did. He just couldn't help himself from feeling worried despite being fully aware of her strength.

"Wipe that worried expression off your face, will you?" Rey said, grinning. 

He shrugged. "I'll try."

She laid a palm on one side of his face and leaned closer to kiss him softly on the other. If Poe was surprised by the gesture, he kept it to himself. 

"Try harder."

When the Falcon took off, he was left standing in the tarmac with his face still warm from where her lips touched it. 

She has given him more hope than he dared ask for. 

 


End file.
